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Alberta suspends certificate of trucking company involved in Broncos crash

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, April 10, 2018 5:59PM EDT
Last Updated Tuesday, April 10, 2018 7:46PM EDT

The wreckage of a fatal crash outside of Tisdale, Sask., is seen Saturday, April, 7, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

HUMBOLDT, Sask. -- A Calgary trucking company that owns the semi truck that collided with the Humboldt Broncos bus and killed 15 people has been ordered to keep its vehicles off the road.

A spokesman with Alberta Transportation says Adesh Deol Trucking Ltd. started operating last fall. John Archer said the government suspended the commercial carrier's safety fitness certificate on Monday.

"This is standard procedure," he said in a statement Tuesday.

The company hasn't had any violations or convictions and hasn't been involved in any collisions before now, Archer added.

The Broncos junior team was heading to Nipawin on Friday when the crash occurred at an intersection north of Tisdale, Sask. RCMP say 15 people died in the crash and 14 were injured.

As of Monday, two people had been released from hospital and, of the dozen that remained, four were listed in critical condition.

RCMP have said the truck driver survived the accident.

In Humboldt, attention turned Tuesday to supporting students as they returned to school without some of their classmates.

Kevin Garinger, director of education for the Horizon School Division and president of the Broncos, said schools were closed Monday due to the crash. Classes resumed Tuesday with the focus on the well-being of students and staff.

Five of the junior hockey players were students and three others were former students, he said. Some teachers and staff even billeted the players.

"These were our kids," Garinger said, choking back tears. "These athletes are and were heroes to many and, in them, our students see shining examples of the young adults and athletes they're dreaming of growing up to be."

He said a crisis response team was in place and counselling is being offered to anyone who needs it.

"In the days to come, our students will require a great deal of support and love to cope with this loss," he said. "None of us are alone."

The school division will continually assess the needs of the community and shift the focus accordingly.

"We haven't determined how long these supports will need to be here," said Greg Chatlin, director of education for Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools. "I do anticipate that we will need to be present for quite some time.

"The gravity of the wounds varies from student to student. Some have lost a local hero. Some have lost a classmate, a friend, a neighbour, while closer still, some have lost a brother, a son or a father."

Saskatchewan's Ministry of Justice apologized Monday after authorities mixed up the identities of one of the deceased and one of the survivors in the crash.

The coroner's office mistook the body of 18-year-old goalie Parker Tobin for that of Xavier Labelle. Labelle is injured but alive, and Tobin is among those who died. Both families have asked for privacy while they are "grieving together."

Premier Scott Moe also apologized for the mix-up Tuesday and said the province will take whatever recommendations come out of the various reviews and investigations taking place.

"I don't know how you could ever prepare for something of this proportion, of this scope of this accident, the severity of this accident and I apologize unreservedly for what happened."